ROME, Italy, November 16, 2017 (www.lifesitenews.com) — Pope Francis’ emphasis on “mercy” over “law” allows him to view a “second marriage” after a first valid marriage in such a way that it is not “characterized continuously as adultery,” suggested a Catholic priest and seminary professor in an article recently published in the Vatican’s official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano. Father Gerald Bednar, Vice Rector and Professor of Systematic Theology at Saint Mary Seminary in the U.S. Diocese of Cleveland, wrote in an article published November 10 that Pope Francis in his exhortation Amoris Laetitia [Joy of Love] is not trying to “fashion a new doctrine” but to “incorporate a merciful way of applying the law.” He criticized “dissenters” from Amoris Laetitia who “fail to understand a subtle but important distinction between law and mercy.” “The issue is not whether divorce is permissible. Clearly it is not. The issue is whether a second marriage must be characterized continuously …